Long Night of Solace
by Switch3d
Summary: A man with a past. An organisation with no morals. A Spectre with the best damn team in the galaxy. And at the end of it all, answers. Title stolen from Halo: Reach, problem? Chapter 1 revised.
1. Chapter 1

That's all I would ever amount too, a lost soul drifting the galaxy looking for revenge. I went wandering from planet to planet, with one goal in sight. My mind was all but gone; the only motive I had left was revenge and even that was slipping. I knew my name, I knew my gun, and I knew my target. I was out to kill that illusive stranger who had uplifted me from insanity and then thrown me back down, beaten and bloody. I had nothing now, nothing but anger, and a driving sense of justice. My mind blurred together the weeks and years, I was vaguely aware of my body decaying as well as my mind. My skin was greying and cracked, my cheeks gaunt. The only life I had left was in my eyes, piercing and vibrant blue. I was the serf, the slave, the protector, I was the right hand, and then I was nothing. But now, now I know what I am. I am fear.

I guess I should start at the beginning. My name is Alex Richardson. This story begins on a small farm world, one you may have heard of, Eden Prime. Humanities Crown Jewel, the pinnacle of peace and prosperity. No one would bother with Eden Prime, or so we thought. The Geth arrived, killing everyone. I would have nightmares about this for the rest of my life.

EDEN PRIME

GALACTIC YEAR: 2183

This is how the world ends. Bodies were left where they were; outside of their homes, hanging out of windows, on the street. The Geth killed indiscriminatingly, and they didn't get squeamish. To the right of me, a family was huddled to together, all burnt to charred corpses, crouched as if praying. The militia didn't do shit, they were the first to run. A few farmers fought back with old mattocks or a pitchfork, but in the end it did nothing. There were almost no survivors, but he had seen a few poking their heads out of windows. They were awestruck at this man walking alone down the ruined street. He was dressed in regular militia wear, but he was armed to the teeth. Instead of the Avenger rifles they usually carried he held a Geth Plasma rifle. On his waist was a modified Carnifex pistol. He walked slowly through the street, favoring his right leg. When he got to the end of the street he stopped. There was a single gunshot and chaos erupted. Five geth burst out from a building having just killed the occupants. The main leveled his rifle and gunned one of them down, then dove for cover. The four other geth advanced on his position, keeping him pinned with suppressing fire. Finally they reached the destroyed car he used for cover. One of the geth peered over the side, and was met with a round to the face. The man threw the geth off of him and ran out of cover, blindly firing his rifle. One of the geth was hit by a grazing shot. The man sprinted for a doorway and then returned fire, picking off the injured geth. The final two geth moved forward slowly. The man leaned out of cover and fired a burst at the geth, but the geth crouched down into cover and the plasma flew overhead harmlessly. The man fired at the other geth and hit it in the chest, disabling it. The final geth popped out of cover and sprayed plasma at the man, forcing him into cover. The geth jumped over its cover and charged forward, running through the doorway and turning to the man. As the geth turned the man brought up his rifle, but it was impossible to use at this range. The geth quickly knocked the rifle away and grabbed the man's neck with a vice like grip. Its grip began to tighten, threatening to strangle the man. Unexpectedly, the man pulled out a hidden knife and jammed it into the geth's neck. The geth dropped the man, giving him time to pull out his pistol and fire a few shots into the geth's chest. His ordeal over, the man limped back into the street to see a massive alien ship ascend in the distance. All was quiet. He slumped to his knees, and then wiped grime and sweat off of his face. He appeared to be in his late Sixties, with a grizzled beard and grey hair. He was in good shape for his age, with muscles showing underneath a tan vest. His face was streaked with grime and sweat. Barely aware of his surroundings, the man fell asleep as a white drop ship with yellow markings dropped out of the sky behind him. It slowed itself down and landed in the middle of the street. The man was so exhausted that even the noise of the ship could not wake him. The door slid open and several men in white body armor filed out and surveyed the area. Satisfied that it was clear one of them nodded towards the shuttle and a man in a yellow and white suit stepped out and approached the sleeping man. Crouching in front of him, he pulled out a data pad and checked something on it.

"So zis is Alex Richards huh?" The man muttered quietly in a German accent. Turning he barked orders to the armored men.

"Get some sedatives into zis guy and get him in the shuttle, the boss is going to be happy"

One of the men nodded and they approached the sleeping man, one of them pulling out a small syringe. He jabbed it into the man's neck and then they picked him up, filling into the shuttle.

Elsewhere on the planet, a ship called the Normandy lifted off from the ground, carrying an unconscious N7 Marine named Keith Shepard. Neither of these two men knew it, but they would set in motion the biggest event the galaxy had seen in an age.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex Richards woke to the soft mutterings of a man. Groggily he opened his eyes only to jam them shut instinctively because of the bright light shining into his face. Alex had no idea of how he got there, or even where he was. The last thing he remembered was killing Geth on Eden Prime, and then sitting down for a rest. He forced open his eyes and looked around. He appeared to be in some sort of laboratory, or hospital. He was lying in a small pod, which was wide open. He tried to sit up but found himself bound into the bed. He pulled against the restraints, but they didn't budge. Alex started to talk but broke down into a coughing fit. He turned his head and spat into the corner of the pod. Then he started to talk again, this time managing to croak out a short sentence.

"Where the hell am I?" He asked, hoping for a response.

Suddenly the pod made a whirring noise and rotated until it was vertical. Alex was now being held up by the restraints. He groaned. Then there was another whirring noise, almost like a door opening. Alex heard footsteps and then a figure stood in front of him. The man was wearing a doctor's mask and scrubs.

"Who are you?" Asked Alex, still wondering where he was. The man didn't respond, only tapped something into a datapad. The man looked at Alex then looked him up and down. Alex smirked.

"I dunno if you're checking me out but sorry man, I don't swing that way." He quipped. The man made a "Hmpf" noise, and then turned around. The doctor tapped on a button and a holographic monitor sprang up. On it was a video of a small colony that Alex recognized as Eden Prime. The video looked home-made, probably filmed on a low quality Omni-Tool. Suddenly the camera was pointed upwards, and zoomed in to see a huge purple ship descend towards the colony. Alex could only watch in shock, reliving the events of Eden Prime in his head.

_Alex sat on the porch of his small ranch and sighed contentedly. Harvest had been good and there had been no problems with young hoodlums ruining his crops. Just in case, he still had his reliable pistol on his hip. The Carnifex had been cut down and modified. It had a smaller barrel and a cylinder which carried the heat sink. It had a maple wood handle and the body was a dark grey metal. All was quiet and Alex reflected on what had brought him to Eden Prime, and his past life as an N7. The War at Shanxi had changed him, changed his morals. No longer was he the death and glory type, his experience had stamped that out of him. He wasn't a racist either; both the humans and turians had made mistakes in the war. During the war he went through more pain than anyone should have. All he wanted was peace, and that was why he went to Eden Prime. The pinnacle of humanities colonies, a paradise with green grass and blue sky, like Earth was before humans tamed it. There was nothing here that would remind him of the war. Suddenly a loud booming noise sounded, and his house began vibrating. Alex pulled out his pistol and jumped to his feet. Even in his sixties Alex was still a capable fighter. Stepping off his porch, Alex gazed up as a gargantuan ship touched down on the planet, shaking the ground and making Alex fall to his knees. _

"I think zats enough for now" Spoke a German voice. Alex tore himself from his thoughts and looked at the doctor standing in front of him.

"Yeah, who the fuck are you" Alex snapped. The doctor chuckled and raised his hands in mock surrender.

"Calm down, calm down, zer is no need to get so angry. I'm here to help you." The doctor replied. "My name iz Emeric, My surname iz not important." The doctor moved to unfasten the restraints holding Alex in place. Once they were all unfastened, Alex dropped to the ground, landing in a combat stance. He lunged upwards, grabbing something from Emeric's belt in the process. Alex tackled Emeric into the wall and put a scalpel against the German's neck. The German man was sweating and holding his arms up in a very real gesture of surrender.

"Not your name, I mean Who. Are. You!" Alex shouted. He pressed the scalpel into the man's neck slightly. Emeric started stuttering and muttering panickedly until Alex pulled the scalpel away and decked him in the face, knocking him to the ground. Picking him back up, Alex replaced the scalpel at Emeric's neck.

"Now, where were we?" Alex whispered evilly. Then his blood turned cold as he felt the barrel of a pistol pressed into his skull. Alex dropped the scalpel and let the doctor scamper away clutching the side of his face where he was punched. Alex raised his hands and felt the barrel of the gun removed from the back of his head. He then heard a voice that he hadn't heard in a very long time.

"_You need to go, now!" Yelled a younger Alex dressed in medium armor. A red stripe ran down his arm and the N7 insignia was displayed proudly on his chest. He was talking to a similarly dressed man with dark hair and a pale complexion. The man shook his head and replied in a thick Russian accent._

"_Dammit Alex I have to do this, and you know it too!" _

_The two men were standing in front of a dropship ready to take them to the military base and away from the Turian horde. The Turians were gaining fast and there was no way they could get away in time, unless they were covered. Alex cursed, and then grabbed his friends arm. _

"_Make it count." Alex slipped one of his matching modified pistols into his friend's hand. His friend nodded and turned to face the first turians squads, assault rifle in one hand and pistol in the other. Alex sprinted away and jumped into the drop ship. Turning around he saw his comrade being swarmed by turians, but holding the line and providing the necessary distraction for the Alex's escape. The last Alex saw was his friend lying on a ground with a turian over him, ready to kill._

"You're dead! I saw you die!" Alex shouted, enraged that they had brought a look-a-like from his past to him, probably to get him to join their cause, whoever they were and whatever their cause was. The stranger laughed, and then replied calmly.

"Alex, I was dead. But they brought me back with project Hades." He said in a Russian accent. "I really am Artyom Davenski, N7 Marine, and I do believe this is yours." Artyom flipped the gun he was holding over and handed it to Alex. Alex looked to Artyom's hip and found the guns twin. Realization hit Alex and a tear of joy dripped from his eye over the prospect of having his best friend and comrade back.

"Artyom! I can't believe it's you! But what is project Hades? And who is 'they'?" Alex asked.

"Alex, I work for a company called Cerberus, they're a privately funded corporation dedicated to furthering human interests, and they are lead by a man named Jack Harper."


End file.
